PRO BASKETBALL

PRO BASKETBALL; Amid Hoopla, McDyess Promises Big Things Next Season

By CHRIS BROUSSARD

Published: June 29, 2002

The lobby of the Theater in Madison Square Garden appeared to be set up for a New Year's Eve party yesterday.

Blue, white and orange balloons, along with silver ones arranged in the shape of ''NYK,'' were everywhere. Poster-size cardboard placards displaying newspaper articles about the Knicks' draft-day trade were situated throughout the room. A highlight film featuring the dunks of Antonio McDyess, accompanied by Tower of Power's 1978 funk song, ''We Came To Play,'' was shown on two televisions, and dozens of Knicks employees -- from the team's president, Scott Layden, to the summer interns -- were brimming with glee.

Think the Knicks are expecting big things out of their new power forward?

The team welcomed McDyess in grand fashion yesterday, and he said he would not disappoint. He predicted a return of thrilling playoff basketball to the Garden, courtesy of his partnership with Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston.

''With us three, I think we can be one of the best teams in the East by far,'' McDyess said. ''I was looking at the playoffs this year and looking at the East teams. It was just up in the air. I feel this year coming we have a great opportunity of being there also.''

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound McDyess sat on the dais next to Frank Williams, the first-round draft choice the Knicks acquired, along with McDyess, in the trade that sent Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson and Maybyner Hilário, the seventh player picked in Wednesday's draft, to Denver.

But the day belonged to McDyess, who handled the attention and his inaugural grilling by local reporters as well as he has handled opposing power forwards in his seven-year career. Since news of the trade broke Wednesday, there has been speculation that McDyess, from Quitman, Miss. (pop. 2,700), is leery of playing in New York.

It is believed that his reluctance to waive an opt-out clause in his contract after next season -- appearing to imply that he did not want to play for the Knicks -- held up the deal for several hours. But McDyess said yesterday that he had long wanted to play in New York and that the trade's delay was caused by loose ends that needed to be tied up.

''I'm very excited to be here; it's a dream come true to have the opportunity to play for the best sports city in the world,'' said McDyess, who will wear No. 34, Charles Oakley's old number. ''It's funny. Before this happened, I told my agent that I'd like to play in New York. This happened for a reason. I'm just glad it did.''

The 27-year-old McDyess, who lives in Houston in the off-season and visits New York every summer, said his distaste for big cities had been overblown. Playing in New York might have bothered him as a rookie, he said, but now he sees only positives.

''''My first year, it was really shocking how big the city was, and I used to say in the back of my mind that I don't see how anyone plays here,'' McDyess said. ''Now, it's a different story. I'll have no problem adapting to this.''

McDyess, who has two years left on his six-year, $67 million contract, even said he hoped to sign a long-term extension with the Knicks. He also said the crowd's negative reaction to the trade's announcement in the Garden Theater on Wednesday did not stun or trouble him.

''This is New York,'' he said. ''Everybody gets booed. I wasn't surprised at all. I'm not a big known name like Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan or guys like that. Too many people don't really know Antonio McDyess like they should. But hopefully, when I step on that court, they will.''

The other concern about McDyess's coming to the Knicks revolved around his surgically repaired left knee. After having his patella tendon repaired last Oct. 12, McDyess played only 10 games last season. But he fully expects to be ready for the first day of training camp.

He played three-on-three basketball toward the end of last season and has been lifting weights and running for several months. McDyess said he would begin playing five-on-five in about a month, when dozens of N.B.A. players gather for games at Houston's Westside Tennis Club. Knicks Coach Don Chaney, who has a home in Houston, plans to watch the games and conduct individual workouts for McDyess in August.

McDyess admitted that he did not know if he would still have a 42-inch vertical leap when he returned. Nonetheless, he said he could not wait to suit up to quiet critics who questioned his ability to come back at the top of his game. ''I never knew that once you have an injury that so much faith can be lost in you so quickly,'' said McDyess, who underwent a physical examination after the news conference. ''So I'm just ready to get on the court and prove to the sporting world that I'm healthy and I'm going to be as strong as ever.'' Finding a good center is a top priority for the Knicks, who will try to upgrade their roster this summer.

McDyess, who believes he can be one of the top power forwards in the Eastern Conference, said that if the Knicks did not add a center, they did not need to worry. ''If I've got to play center, I will,'' he said. ''I look at it this way: in the East, there's not too many big centers and too many powerful guys, so I think we can kind of squeeze through that.''

McDyess, who like Sprewell played at Alabama, said he hoped the Knicks did not trade Sprewell and Houston this summer. ''Latrell and Allan are two of the main reasons I wanted to come here,'' he said.

McDyess spoke with Houston on Thursday. He plans to speak soon with the Nets' Jason Kidd, his good friend and former teammate in Phoenix. Kidd, who will be a free agent next summer, said last season that he hoped to be reunited with McDyess someday.

''I want to know Jason's reaction to the trade,'' McDyess said. ''It would be lovely if he could come over here. With that duo, I think by far the Eastern Conference would be sewed up.''

He seems to think the Knicks have a pretty good chance of doing that even without Kidd.